Hair dryer



w. M. COPELAND AL v HAIR DRYER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 11, 1966 ayes Filed July 11, 1966 W. M. COPELAND ET AL HAIR DRYER 73 Sheets-Sheet 72 7i Tbd/ Lian c M nuela/bra %/[ian United States Patent 3,348,317 HAIR DRYER William M. Copeland, Villa Park, and Stanley V. Horecky,

Oak Park, IlL, and Thomas H. Hayes, Roanoke, Va,

assignors to Sunbeam Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 11. 1966, Ser. No. 564,325 Claims. (Cl. 34-99) This invention relates to a hair dryer, and more particularly, to an improved portable hair dryer which is ideally suited for travel purposes.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved portable hair dryer which is low cost, lightweight, compact, and ideally suited for travel purposes in the sense of the casing or housing thereof being small and having provision for storage of the necessary components of the hair dryer apparatus such as the hair dryer cap and the air hose which is utilized to connect the motor-blowerheater unit with the hair dryer cap.

The instant invention utilizes the hose storage means of co-pending and allowed Ponczek et al. patent application Ser. No. 466,307 filed June 23,1965, and now Patent No. 3,261,107, and assigned to the same assignee as the instant application. In that co-pending application the hair dryer casing or housing is provided with a hose storage compartment and the hose for connecting the motor-blowerheater unit to the hair dryer cap is collapsible and expansible in its lengthwise direction within the range of from several inches to several feet. The hose is stored in the casing or hair dryer by being collapsed in its axial direction into the hose storage compartment. The instant invention utilizes this feature and in addition the hair dryer housing or casing is also provided with another storage compartment for purposes of storing the collapsible hair dryer cap therein so that the hair dryer apparatus is truly portable and a self-contained device. The compartment for storing the collapsed hair dryer cap is also used for collapsed storage of the flexible electrical extension cord of the hair dryer device. In the preferred form of the invention the carrying case or housing of the hair dryer has a generally rectangular shallow shape or configuration similar to that of a narrow or thin ladys purse. Its length and width are roughly 12 and 8 inches respectively, and its depth or thickness is roughly 23 inches. The motor-blower-heater unit is contained in one end portion of the housing, and the two storage compartments are located in the other end portion of the housing. The access opening for the hose storage compartment is located at the endmost portion of said other end of the housing. The cap and cord storage compartment is also provided with an access opening which is closed by a door or the like which can be opened and closed. Thus, the hair dryer is truly suitable for travel purposes since it is small and compact and a self-contained unit including its necessary components such as the hair dryer cap, the hose for connecting the motor-blower-heater unit to the cap, and the electric extension cord for connecting the hair dryer to a source of electrical energy.

The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hair dryer in accordance with the preferred form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged broken away side elevation view of the left hand corner portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partly broken away side elevation view of 3,348,317 Patented Oct. 24, 1967 the hair dryer showing the hose and cap thereof in stored position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the section line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an elevation View of the support plate for the motor-blower-heater unit of the hair dryer.

Referring now particularly to the drawings for a detailed description of the preferred form of the invention, the hair dryer comprises a portable housing or carrying case 10. Along its upper side edge the housing 10 is provided with a carrying handle 11 which may be formed integrally with the housing. Housing 10 has the shape of a shallow rectangular box. Its contour and size is similar to that of a thin or narrow ladys purse. For example, in one constructed form of the invention the length of housing 16 is 12% inches and its width measured from top to bottom is 8 /2 inches. Its thickness or depth is slightly tapered or curved and has a size within the range of from two to three inches. Casing 10 actually comprises two generally rectangular pan-shaped plastic molding material shells 12 and 13 which face each other to define the closed housing. Along its top and bottom edges the thickness or depth of the housing is 2 inches. The shells 12 and 13 have major side surfaces 14. The maximum spacing between the side surfaces 14- at the central portion of housing 10 is 2 /2 inches. The central portion of shell 13 is provided with a pedestal type enlargement 15 to serve as a support for the hair dryer when it is laid flat in horizontal position. The maximum spacing between the enlargement 15 and the side surface 14 of shell 12 is 3 inches.

The hair dryer is provided with a motor-blower-heater unit indicated generally by reference numeral 16. The motor 17, the blower 18 and the heater 19 of this unit are mounted or supported on a plate 20 within one end portion of housing 10. This unit comprising parts 17-20 is actually positioned in the left hand end half-portion of the housing when viewing FIGS. 1 and 3. The other end half-portion is provided with two storage compartments 21 and 22. Compartment 21 is for purposes of storing a hose 23 therein which is collapsible and expansible in its axial or lengthwise direction within the range of several inches to several feet. In a constructed form of the invention, the length of compartment 21 was about 8 inches, and the hose 23 was expansible into a length of about 3 feet. The compartment 21 extends along the bottom side edge of housing 10. The compartment 22 is positioned above compartment 21. A hair dryer cap 24, which may be constructed from cloth or sheet plastic material so as to be collapsible in a manner well known in the art, is stored in compartment 22. A flexible electric extension cord 25 which is connected to the motor-blower-heater unit 16 can also be collapsed into compartment 22 for storage therein. The compartment 22 is provided with an access opening 26 at the extreme right hand end of housing 10. Opening 26 is adapted to be opened and closed by a hinged or pivoted door 27 which actually comprises an end panel of the housing 10. The hose storage compartment 21 is provided with an access opening 28 located just below the door 27 in the right hand corner of housing 10 when viewing FIGS. 1 and 3.

The shells 12 and 13 preferably are constructed from molded plastic material so as to reduce costs and provide a housing which is lightweight and readily fabricated with its necessary parts. Both of the shells have integrally formed, on the inside thereof, matching or aligned scroll shaped walls 29. The scroll walls 29 are located in the left hand end half-portion of housing 10. At their inner ends they commence adjacent to the inner end of hose 23 radially inward of heater 19 and then extend around the left hand end of the casing to adjacent the heater 19 and radially outward thereof. The area in which the heater 19 is positioned between the inner and outer ends of scroll walls 29 comprises a tangential air outlet 19' for the chamber defined by the aligned and matching scroll walls 29. The hose storage compartment is defined'by the integral bottom flange-like edges of shells 12 and 13 and also integral walls 30 which extend from the inner ends of the scroll walls 29 in a right hand direction to the lower end corner of the housing.

When the two shells 12 and 13 are positioned against each other the walls 29 and 30 of shell 12 will align with the walls 29 and 30 of the shell 13 so as to provide a compartment for the motor 17 and the blower 18, a tangential exhaust 19' in which the heater 19 is positioned, and with the hose storage passageway 21 being oriented as a continuation of the tangential exhaust 19' of the scroll chamber. The motor-blower-heater unit support plate 20 is provided with a plurality of tabs 31 along its circumference. These tabs catch in notches 32 formed in the scroll wall 29 of the shell 13. When the shell 12 is positioned against the shell 13 the support plate 20 is clamped between the opposite scroll walls 29 of the two shells to retain the motor-blower-heater unit in mounted position. The two shells 12 and 13 are re tained together by means such as screws 33 passing through aligned bosses 34 formed on the shells adjacent their bottom portion and also at the handle 11. The plate 20 is additionally held in place by a screw 35 also entering a not shown boss formed in the shell 13.

The motor and blower have a common shaft 36. Shaft 36 is disposed generally perpendicular to the major side surfaces 14 of the shells. The plate 20 in effect subdivides the scroll chamber within the scroll shaped walls 29 into a motor compartment 37 and a blower compartment 38. Viewing FIG. 4, it will be seen that the motor 17 is mounted on the right hand side of plate 20 within compartment 37 and the blower 18 is positioned on shaft 37 in compartment 38 on the left hand side of plate 20. However, a portion of motor 17 extends through plate 20 into the compartment 38, and more particularly, partially into the blower 18 so as to reduce the overall thickness of the motor-blower sub-assembly so that the maximum thickness or depth of the housing can be minimal. For example, the field laminations 17' of motor 17 are clamped against the right hand side of plate 20 when viewing FIG. 4. The central portion of plate 20 has an opening 39 formed therein. A portion of the motor, and more particularly part of the field windings 17" and the armature 17" and one of its end bearings protrude through the opening 39 into the chamber 33. The blower 18 comprises a generally circular plastic disc 18' having a plurality of radially extending vanes 18" formed thereon on the side facing the plate 20. The inner ends of the vanes 18" have cutouts 18 so that the vanes 18 clear the left hand portion of motor 17 which protrudes through the plate opening 39 into the blower chamber 38.

As heretofore mentioned, the enlargement on the shell 13 is for purposes of supporting the housing 10 in horizontal position on an underlying support surface. Enlargement 15 is a pedestal type support for the hair dryer. The air inlet openings 40 for the hair dryer comprise an integrally formed grill positioned in the peripheral portion of enlargement 15. Grill 40 is located laterally between the major side surface 14 of shell 13 and the bottom of pedestal type enlargement 15 so that the grill 40 is not closed off by the underlying support surface. Actually the chamber 37 for the motor 17 is isolated from direct communication with the blower chamber 38 by a wall 41 formed on the shell 13. The wall 41 extends from the juncture between the inner ends of walls 29 and 30 of shell 13 to the upper left hand corner of housing 10. A plurality of apertures 42 are formed in the plate about the motor 17. When the motor is energized the incoming air will pass through the grill 40 into the chamber 37 and over the motor 17 to cool the same and through the openings 42 into the chamber 38 into the central eye portion of blower 18. The blower 18 will exhaust the air within chamber 38 through the tangential exhaust 19' through and over the heater 19 into the hose storage compartment or passageway 21 and through the hose 23 into the cap 24 assuming that the hose 23 has been withdrawn and connected to the cap as indicated in FIG. 1. The collapsible cap 24 of course can be double layered to provide an inflatable air distributing manifold for drying hair when the cap is positioned on the users head.

The heater 19 is a sub-assembly which is well known in the art. It comprises a surrounding metallic shield 19" which has a pair of heater wound insulating cards 19" mounted therein. The heater 19 is mounted on the plate 20 by means such as a rivet 43 passing through tabs formed on the shield 19" and the plate 20. Heater 19 is preferably positioned on the left hand side of the plate 20 when viewing FIG. 4 so that it is directly aligned with air exhausted by the fan 18. In fabricating the hair dryer, the motor 17, the blower 18, and the heater 19 are preassembled with the plate 20. Then plate 20 is positioned in the scroll wall 29 of shell 13 by locating the tabs 31 in the notches 32. Thereafter plate 24} can be fastened in position by means such as screws 35, and then shell 12 is superposed on shell 13 and connected to shell 13 by means such as screws 33.

The passageway 21 besides comprising a hose storage compartment also operates as an exhaust passageway or air outlet for the hair dryer. The inner end of hose 23 is provided with a fitting or collar 44. The fitting 44 and therefore the inner end of hose 23 is retained captive in the passageway 21 but can move therein in opposite directions throughout the length thereof. At its inner end the passageway 21 is provided with a stop element 45 adjacent to the heater 19 so as to limit inward movement of the fitting 44. At its outer end the passageway 21 is provided with an integral annular ring or flange 46 to limit outward movement of the fitting 44. The hose 23 is assembled with the hair dryer by positioning it in the passageway 21 prior to closure of the two shells 12 and 13 on each other. In a constructed form of the invention, the hose 23 was expansible to 36 inches and collapsible to about 8 inches. Therefore, the passageway 21 also had a length of about 8 inches. However, it will be appreciated that if the hose 23 is capable of being collapsed into a shorter distance then the length of the passageway 21 can be correspondingly reduced. Since the inner end of the hose is free to move for a substantial distance in opposite directions within the passageway 21, this makes it possible to reduce the actual length of hose 23 required to connect the motor-blower-heater unit to the cap 24 and still provide limited freedom of movement for the hair dryer cap user. For example, if the fitting 44 were fixed to the inner end of passageway 21 then the hose 23 would have to be longer to provide the same exposed length of hose as when fitting 44 can be moved in an outward direction. Also, if fitting 44 were fixed to the outer end of passageway 21 then the length of casing 10 would have to be increased to provide the necessary hose storage space.

The outer end of hose 23 is also provided with an annular fitting or collar 47. The collar 47 will pass through the opening 28. It will also pass through the opening 46. The left hand of collar 47 is provided with a pair of diametrically positioned tabs 49. In order to insert the collar 47 through the opening 46 it is necessary 7 to align the tabs 49 with a pair of diametrically positioned notches 50 formed in the ring 46. After the tabs-49 are inserted past the notches 50, if the collar 47 is given a partial turn, then the tabs 49 will catch on the ring 46 to retain the hose 23 in collapsed stored position within the passageway 21. Gripping of the collar 47 for the described inserting operation is facilitated by an integral cross piece 51 formed on the outer end of collar 47 for finger gripping. In order to withdraw collar 47 from the passageway 21, the cross piece 51 is finger gripped to give the collar 47 a short turn to align the tabs 49 with the notches 50 after which the hose 23 can be Withdrawn or it will come popping out by itself assuming that it is reinforced by a resilient helical wire element or the like which is common in the prior art hair dryer hoses. The ring 46 which operates as an outer stop for the inner fitting 44 and as a releasable catch for the outer fitting 47 is spaced behind the opening 28 by a short distance so that when the hose 23 is releasably locked in stored position by having the tabs 49 catch on the ring 46 the right hand end of fitting 47 will be just flush with the end wall at the lower right hand corner of housing 10. Besides releasably locking the hose 23 in stored position in compartment 21 the fitting 47 also releasably locks the outer end of hose 23 to the hair dryer cap 24. For this purpose the outer end of fitting 47 is provided with a pair of tabs 48 which can be snapped into an annular fitting 52 on the hair dryer cap 24 in a manner which will be obvious to those skilled in the art to removably connect the hose to the cap. The fitting 47 or the fitting 52 may be constructed from flexible plastic material to facilitate this removable connection.

The wall 29 on the shell 13 extends across the enlargement 15 and the grill work 40 is actually formed only in that part of the peripheral portion of enlargement 15 which is in alignment with the motor-blower sub-assembly. The cap and cord storage compartment 22 is defined by the wall 29 and the opposite door 27 and the walls 30 and the opposite flange portions of the shells 12 and 13 along the top of housing 10. Door 27 actually comprises a hinged end panel of housing 10. The opposite shells 12 and 13 are provided with integral pins 54 and the door 27 is provided with a pair of pin receiving portions 55 along the bottom thereof. These integral means 54, 55 mount the door for hinged or pivoted movement about its bottom edge. The upper end of door 27 has an integral depression 56 formed therein which is provided with an aperture 57 at its upper end. A finger can be inserted into the depression 56 through the opening 57 to pull open on the upper edge of the door. The door 27 is latched closed by a pair of tabs 53 formed on the upper edge thereof which catch in a groove 58 formed on the inside of the upper right hand corner of housing 10. The door 28 may be constructed from flexible plastic material to facilitate releasable latching engagement between the tabs 53 and the notch 58. The upper edge of door 27 is also provided with a notch 59. The notch 59 is large enough to permit withdrawal of the cord 25 from within compartment 22 while still keeping the door closed. For example, if one wanted to dry her fingernails with the hair dryer unit it would not be necessary to withdraw the hose 23 and the cap 24 but merely the cord 25. In this use of the device, the door 27 could be kept closed after the cord 25 was withdrawn and plugged into an electrical outlet, and the hot air generated by the motor-blowerheater unit would be exhausted from the tangential exhaust 19 through the collapsed and stored hose 23 out through the fitting 47. If the fingernails were placed in front of the opening 23 the exhausted hot air would dry nail polish or the like thereon. In the illustrated form of the invention the cord 25 is shown as being permanently attached or fixed to the motor-blower-heater unit, however, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the cord 25 could have a detachable connection at its inner end to the unit and the cord 25 would still be stored in the chamber 22 by coiling or bunching it up and insertin g it into the chamber 22 along with the cap 24. Actually, in a constructed form of the invention the compartment 22 is large enough to receive the cap 24 and the cord 25 with extra room to spare. In other words, it is possible to store a few other things in the hair dryer which are useful for hair drying purposes. For example, it is possible to include a few hair curlers or the like in the storage compartment 22.

A switch assembly is provided at the lower left hand corner of housing 10 for purposes of controlling the hair dryer. The switch assembly comprises a switch 60 having a finger operating rotary control member 61. A recessed portion 62 is provided in the lower left hand corner of the housing in alignment with the hose storage compartment 21. The switch 60 is mounted radially outward of the adjacent scroll wall 29 between the wall defining recess 62 and an adjacent lug 63. The rotary finger control 61 is positioned in recess 62 on a switch shaft 64 which extends through an aperture formed in the wall portion of recess 62. The finger control 61 is positioned so as to be flush with the left hand end wall or panel of the hair drying casing.

It will now be seen that the invention provides a low cost, lightweight, compact, and portable hair dryer in which the casing or housing for the motor-blower-heater unit is a closed carrying unit for all the necessary parts or apparatus necessary to perform a total hair drying operation. In use of the device the cap and cord are withdrawn from their storage compartment and the hose is withdrawn from its storage compartment. The hose is connected to the hair drying cap and the hair drying cap is then positioned on the hair dryer users head. The cord 25 can then be plugged into a wall socket. The switch 60 may be provided with an off and on setting and also low, medium and high heat settings. In the off setting the motor and heater are de-energized and in the on setting only the motor is energized to operate just the blower to provide cool air. The low, medium and high heat settings are selectable in accordance with the individual desires of the hair dryer user to provide these conditions of heat. After use of the hair dryer there are no loose or random parts which need a storage space aside from the hair dryer casing itself. This is because the hose 23 can be collapsed into the hair dryer for storage therein, and the same is true of the cap and cord thereof. Accordingly, when the hair dryer is put away after use thereof it stands in readiness for subsequent use with all its necessary components. In addition, due to the small size of the self-contained unit it is ideally suitable for travel purposes. Since it is small and compact it can be hand carried as such or readily contained in an average piece of travel luggage or the like.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention, and that it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new and desired Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a hair dryer comprising a motor-blower-heater unit housed within a portable casing, a flexible electric extension cord for said unit, said casing having an air inlet and air outlet formed thereon, an axially collapsible and expansible hose connected to said outlet, and a hose storage compartment in said casing for axially collapsed storage of said hose in said casing, the outer end of said hose being adapted for removable connection to a collapsible hair dryer cap; the improvements of another storage compartment in said casing, said another com partment having a size sufficient to receive said cap and and cord when in collapsed condition for storage therein whereby said casing comprises a compact portable hair drying assembly complete with motor-blower-heater unit, hose, cord and hair dryer cap.

2. In a hair dryer as in claim 1, the further improvements of said casing having a shallow rectangular-like shape, said motor-blower-heater unit being positioned at one of the end half-portions of said casing, said storage compartments being positioned at the other end halfportion of said casing, said hose storage compartment comprising an elongated passageway formed in said casing along one of the side edges thereof, said cap and cord storage compartment being formed in said casing to be secured by between said passageway and the opposite side edge of said casing, and said-cord being connected to said motorblower-heater unit.

3. In a hair dryer as in claim 2, the further improvements of a door for access to said cap and cord storage compartment, said door comprising a Wall portion of said casing, said wall portion being. located at the endmost part of said other casing end half-portion, said wall portion being pivoted to said casing for opening and closing movement with respect to said cap and cord storage compartment.

4. In a hair dryer as in claim 3, the further improvements of a carrying handle for said casing, said carrying handle being located on said casing along said opposite casingside edge, and a switch for controlling said motor- 'blower-heater unit, said switch being located at said one casing end half-portion in alignment with said passageway, and an exposed finger operated rotary control for said switch, said rotary control being located at the endmost part of said one casing end half-portion.

5. In a hair dryer as in claim 4, the further improvements of said casing comprising a pair of plastic molding material shells, said shells having a generally rectangular pan-like shape, said shells being positioned against each other to define said casing, an aligned integral scroll shaped wall formed on each of said shells inside said casing, the motor-blowe'r-heater unit being positioned inside said scroll shaped walls, the motor-blower'of said unit having a common shaft, said shaft extending generally perpendicular to the major side surfaces of said shells, the motor of said unit being positioned adjacent the major side surface of one of said shells and the blower of said unit being positioned adjacent the major side surface of the other shell, the heater of said unit being positioned in the tangential outlet portion of said scroll shaped walls between said switch and passageway where- 'by said hose storage compartment comprises a continuation of said tangential outlet portion of said scroll shaped walls.

6. In a hair dryer as in claim 5, the further improvements of a motor-blower-heater unit support plate positioned in said casing between the aligned integral scroll shaped walls of said shells, the motor of said unit being mounted on said plate between one of the sides thereof and said one shell, the heater of said unit being mounted on said plate between the other side of said plate and said other shell, the blower of said unit comprising a circular blower disc on said shaft between said other plate side and other shell, said blower disc having a plurality of radially extending vanes formed thereon on the side thereof facing said other plate side, an opening formed in the central portion of said support plate, a portion of the motor of said unit extending through said opening into said vanes, the radially inner ends of said vanes having cutout portions for clearance between said vanes and motor portion, and a pedestal-like support integrally formed in the centralportion of said one shell major side surface for supporting said casing in horizontal position on an underlying support surface, said air inlet comprising a grill work integrally formed in the peripheral portion of said pedestal-like support between said one shell major side surface and the bottom of said pedestal-like support, and said air outlet comprising an opening formed in said endmost part of said other end half-portion of said casing at the outer end of said passageway. e

'7. In a hair dryer as in claim 6, the further'irnprovements of a wall integral with the scroll shaped wall of said one shell to close off the interior thereof from direct communication with said'tang'ential outlet portion of said scroll shaped walls, and air passage openings formed in said support plate about said motor for passage of air from through said grill Work to past said motor and then through said air passage openings into said blower and then out through said tangential outlet portion into said passageway.

8. In a hair dryer as in claim 7, the further improvements of said shallow rectangular-like shape having a length, width and depth of the order of 12%, 8 /2 and 2-3 inches respectively, said passageway having a length of the order of 8 inches, said hose having an expanded length of the order of 3 6 inches, and said depth being tapered, said depth between said major side surfaces having a minimum size of the order of 2 inches along said casing side edges and a maximum size of the order of 2 inches at the central portion of said casing, and the total depth of said casing at said pedestal-like support being of the order of 3 inches.

9. In a purse styled portable hair dryer, a generally rectangular shaped carrying case, a motor-blower-heater unit in said case, an air inlet opening formed in said case, an air outlet opening formed in said case at one end thereof adjacent a corner thereof, an axially collapsible and expansible hose, the inner end of said hose being connected to said outlet opening and the outer end of said hose being adapted for removable connection to a collapsible hair drying cap, two storage compartments in said case, one of said storage compartments comprising an elongated passageway in said case behind said outlet opening, said hose being adapted to be collapsed in its axial direction into said passageway for storage therein,

the outer end of said hose having means formed thereon for removable engagement with said outlet opening to retain said hose stored in said passageway, the other storage compartment comprising a space inside said case adjacent said passageway and at said one end of said case, an access opening formed in said one end, said access opening and other storage compartment being large enough to receive said cap when in collapsed condition for storage of said cap in said other storage compartment, and a door closing said access opening.

10. In a hair dryer as in claim 9, said passageway being formed along the bottom edge of said purse styled hair dryer, said cap storage compartment being formed above said passageway, said door comprising the end panel of said casing above said outlet opening, said door being hinged for opening and closing movement by means integrally formed on said casing and the bottom edge of said door, means integrally formed on said casing and the upper edge of said door for releasably retaining said door closed, a carrying handle at the top edge of said purse style hair dryer, and a finger operated switch at the other bottom corner of said purse styled hair dryer for controlling said motor-blower-heater unit.

11. In a' hair dryer as in claim it), said case having a length, width and depth of the order of 12, 8 and 2-3 inches respectively, and a flexible electric extension cord connected to said motor-blower-heater unit, said cord extending from inside said case out through said door, said cap storage compartment having a size suflicient to receive said cord for storage therein in addition to said cap, said hose having an expanded length of the order of 36 inches, said passageway having a length of the order of several inches, the inner end of said hose being movable for a substantial distance in opposite directions within said passageway, and said hose being collapsible into a length of the order of several inches for total storage in said passageway.

12. In a hair dryer as in claim 2, the further improvements of said casing comprising a pair of plastic molding material shells, said shells having a generally rectangularlike shape, said shells being positioned against each other to define said casing, an aligned integral scroll shaped wall formed on each of said shells inside said casing, the motor-blower-heater unit being positioned inside said scroll shaped walls," motor-blower of said unit having a common shaft, said shaft extending generally perpendicular to the major side surfaces of said shells, the motor of said unit being positioned adjacent the major side surface of one of said shells and the blower of said unit being positioned adjacent the major side surface of the other shell, the heater of said unit being positioned in the tangential outlet portion of said scroll shaped walls and said hose storage compartment passageway comprising a continuation of said tangential outlet portion of said scroll shaped Walls.

13. In a hair dryer as in claim 12, the further improvements of a motor-blower-heater unit support plate positioned in said casing between the aligned integral scroll shaped walls of said shells, the motor of said unit being mounted on said plate between one of the sides thereof and said one shell, the heater of said unit being mounted on said plate between the other side of said plate and said other shell, the blower of said unit comprising a circular blower disc on said shaft between said other plate side and other shell, said blower disc having a plurality of radially extending vanes formed thereon on the side thereof facing said other plate side, an opening formed in the central portion of said support plate, a portion of the motor of said unit extending through said opening into said vanes, the radially inner ends of said vanes having cutout portions for clearance between said vanes and motor portion, and a pedestal-like support integrally formed in the central portion of said one shell major side surface for supporting said casing in horizontal position on an underlying support surface, said air inlet comprising a grill Work integrally formed in the peripheral portion of said pedestal-like support between said one shell major side surface and the bottom of said pedestal-like support, and said air outlet comprising an opening formed in the endrnost part of said other end half-portion of said casing at the outer end of said passageway.

14. In a hair dryer as in claim 13, the further improvements of a wall integral with the scroll shaped wall of said one shell to close off the interior thereof from direct communication with said tangential outlet portion of said scroll shaped walls, and air passage openings formed in said support plate about said motor for passage of air from through said grill work to past said motor and then through said air passage openings into said blower and then out through said tangential outlet portion into said passageway.

15. In a hair dryer as in claim 2, the further improvements of a door for access to said cap and cord storage compartment, said door comprising a wall portion of said casing, means integrally formed on said wall portion and casing for hinging said door to said casing for opening and closing movement with respect to said cap and cord storage compartment, means for latching said door closed, and a switch on said casing for controlling said motor-blower-heater unit, said casing have a depth, Width and length of about 3, 8 and 12 inches respectively, and said hose being collapsible and expansible within the range of from several inches to several feet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,261,107 7/1966 Ponczek et al. 3499- 3,316,656 5/1967 Wahl 34-99 FOREIGN PATENTS 933,638 8/1963 Great Britain. 947,369 1/1964 Great Britain.

FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner. A. D. HERRMANN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A HIAR DRYER COMPRISING A MOTOR-BLOWER-HEATER UNIT HOUSED WITHIN A PORTABLE CASING, A FLEXIBLE ELECTRIC EXTENSION CORD FOR SAID UNIT, SAID CASING HAVING AN AIR INLET AND AIR OUTLET FORMED THEREON, AN AXIALLY COLLAPSIBLE AND EXPANSIBLE HOSE CONNECTED TO SAID OUTLET, AND A HOSE STORAGE COMPARTMENT IN SAID CASISNG FOR AXIALLY COLLAPSED STORAGE OF SAID HOSE IN SAID CASING, THE OUTER END OF SAID HOSE BEING ADAPTED FOR REMOVABLE CONNECTION TO A COLLAPSIBLE HAIR DRYER CAP; THE IMPROVEMENTS OF ANOTHER STORAGE COMPARTMENT IN SAID CASISNG, SAID ANOTHER COMPARTMENT HAVING A SIZE SUFFICIENT TO RECEIVE SAID CAP AND AND CORD WHEN IN COLLAPSED CONDITION FOR STORAGE THEREIN 